Show me the money! Trainer Mann reveals agreement is close on prize funds

Lambourn handler Charlie Mann has revealed trainers and racecourse bosses are close to an agreement in their dispute over prize money.

Mann organised a successful boycott of a race last week at Worcester, a track that is owned by the recently amalgamated Arena and Northern Racing Group.

He held constructive talks on Monday with Ian Renton and Jim Allen representing the course’s bosses.

'We're not far off. We've had a meeting today with Ian Renton and Jim Allen. I think we’ll know more tomorrow,' said Mann. 'We've had an offer made, we’re not far off an agreement and I think it will benefit everyone. I’ve got to talk to everybody.

'What we’ve done has been a massive success. We’ve achieved what we set out to do. It's just a question of when the races will be raised to tariff. We are very close to an agreement.'

Mann organised the boycott of the partex-direct.co.uk Novices' Hurdle as the race fell below the level set out in the Horsemen’s Group tariff by £900.

With the backing of his fellow trainers, Mann arranged for 11 of the 12 runners in that race being withdrawn, resulting in a walkover for Moulin De La Croix, trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies.

The delegation of trainers decided to let one horse run rather than withdrawing all 12 so the prize-money could be collected and distributed between the trainers who faced fines, with the remained donated to charity.